Weather News

North Qld tourism 'open for business' despite wild weather

The state's Tourism Minister has thrown her support behind far north Queensland operators in the wake of ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.

Jann Stuckey has flown to the region to attend a business breakfast in Palm Cove and a launch of Chinese New Year festivities in Cairns.

She says visitors need to be reassured that local tourism operations have been largely unaffected by the recent extreme weather.

"After the 2010-11 floods a lot of forward bookings were cancelled because people perceived the state to be completely under water," she said.

"So what we're making sure of letting people know is that yes we've had some areas very badly hit but the bulk of destinations in Queensland are open and keen to take their business."

She says it is important to dispel any perceptions that the whole of Queensland has been ravaged by flooding.

"Queensland is definitely open for business, despite some patchy weather and I don't dispute that it was very severe in some areas but regions like Cairns are very much putting out their welcome mat and unaffected," she said.